Target population: The practice
targets high school seniors who demonstrate possible eligibility for
EOPS program services. High school personnel contact students who
have less than a 2.5 grade point average and/or students who
participate in the school lunch program; and are, or may be,
interested in enrolling at College of San Mateo. EOPS serves
low-income, often first generation college students, who are
academically under prepared; and/or are ESL. Students must meet
income and educational criteria.

Goals: The program
seeks to assist students in visualizing themselves as college
students. It addresses barriers to their participation in college:
anxiety, fear, expectations, financial and academic difficulties,
etc. The program promotes the understanding that college is a
possibility if students so choose. Preview Day specifically attempts
to generate interest in 1) attending college, 2) attending
CSM/applying for EOPS and 3) serves as a recruitment opportunity for
the Summer College Readiness Program, SCRP.

Description: The Preview Day is
held each spring. EOPS invites thirty-five (35) seniors to
experience a ‘day in the life’ of an EOPS college student.
Transportation assistance is provided (if necessary), and a
continental breakfast is served. Key campus personnel (President,
Vice President of Student Services, Vice President of Instruction,
Dean of Counseling, Dean of Enrollment Services, etc.) welcome
students by participating in an ice breaker activity with them.
Afterwards, students are assigned to an EOPS student mentor who has
similar interests/major, who serves as a guide for a two- hour
period, taking the students to class with them, or providing a tour
if no class is scheduled. Prior to serving as student mentors a
training session is held so that they will understand the goals of
the "Preview Day" and know what their role is. Based on the high
school student- EOPS student matches, the program identifies the
classes that will be visited and notifies the instructors. The high
school students and their mentors return to EOPS for lunch, followed
by an informational session on EOPS and College of San Mateo.
Students leave with an EOPS Preview Day T-Shirt, a folder filled
with CSM information, and an application to the college's Summer
Class Readiness Program.

Staffing: The practice has
two Program Services Coordinators (classified positions), and 1-2
student assistants. On the actual Preview Day 35 student mentors
work with the high school students. All activities are under the
direction of EOPS Director and/or Coordinator.

Facilities, equipment, materials:
Activities take place in a classroom or common gathering place.
Materials include the ice-breaker activity and related materials,
folders with campus program materials, t-shirts, and an application
for college's Summer College.

Readiness Program. The program coordinates with food services to
supply lunch.

Costs, funding source:
The preview day costs $1,350 that is currently funded out of the
EOPS budget. It was previously funded through a campus Partnership
for Excellence grant that is now defunct.

Outreach and marketing:
Program staff conducts monthly visits and presentations to local
high schools targeting students who may meet EOPS criteria. These
students are identified with assistance of high school staff. Upon
request from local feeder schools, college staff will conduct and
facilitate a College Readiness Workshop Series that also serves as a
marketing tool.

Evidence of effectiveness:
Effectiveness is determined by an annual student satisfaction
survey; the number of Preview Day students who subsequently
participate in Summer College Readiness Program and/or enroll at CSM
for fall semester and apply for EOPS services. Beginning 2005 the
program will use pre/post tests to assess student learning outcomes
for the event.

Suggestions for replication:
Plan early. Check with high school districts for the best date. Many
high schools have STAR testing, exist exams, etc. in the spring that
can conflict. To ensure that you are not short of student mentors,
recruit more mentors than are actually needed, with the caveat that
there may not be enough high school students to go around. Have the
mentors attend a training session so that they are clear on what is
expected of them.

This website and all activities conducted by the Perkins 1B funded Statewide Leadership Collaborative for Special Populations Grant (17-0165) are funded
in part by the Chancellor's Office, California Community Colleges.